While most Americans were in bed on the 15th ballot Friday night, the House elected Kevin McCarthy to be the next Speaker. This should frighten regular Americans. Kevin represents everything that is wrong with our politics today. He’s one part big business establishment, one part Trump MAGA and the rest megalomaniac. He was disappointed with Trump, and then he begged for his support. He is both a Con Man and a Coward. Teddy Roosevelt might say he has “no more backbone than a chocolate eclair.” If you’re a blue-collar, middle-class family, Kevin McCarthy does not care about you or your children’s future. Kevin McCarthy cares about POWER.
I saw this quote from Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb) on Saturday morning.
It’s disappointing to see an elected representative misunderstand his responsibilities. What Gaetz did, he did for all the wrong reasons, but it doesn’t mean representative government has failed; in fact, it’s proof that it can still function. The system is filled with broken people who use it for their own personal gain or don’t understand its purpose. But just because something is broken doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. Rep. Bacon should be explaining to Americans that while Gaetz was nothing more than a petulant child who sought to weaken McCarthy for his gain, he also showed regular Americans who are fed up with their power games how to take power back. Imagine what would happen if we had a politician who used those tactics to install a competent leader who actually cared about this country and its people instead of just power. Imagine someone in congress who wasn’t a Con Man or a Coward who rallied 20-30 like-minded individuals to hold out until they got real leadership, not just who the parties decided. Gaetz was never going to win because he had no real alternative to McCarthy. No one who the American people thought worthy of sitting through a few hundred ballots for.
That’s what representative government does; it gives us an opportunity. As James Madison said in Federalist No. 10, “Ambition must be made to counteract Ambition.” The bad men are seizing power, and it’s up to regular Americans to stop them. And our system of representative government gives us the best opportunity to do so with the body of the House and the frequency of elections. We have two years to find and elect 15-20 members who are focused on one goal. Returning power back to the people. And then, they need to nominate Justin Amash as Speaker of the House.
If you’re an American who feels powerless against big business and government forces, you should want Justin Amash to be the Speaker of the House. If you are tired of politicians who wield power for their gain instead of the people they represent, then you should want Justin Amash to be the Speaker of the House. Why? Because Justin Amash intends to give your power back. This will allow us, the people, to hold our politicians accountable again.
Government is a relationship between People and Authority; solid and successful relationships need good communication. That’s what’s great about our republican structure; it not only divides the Authority so it doesn’t become too concentrated, but it also acts as a communication mechanism from the people to the Authority. Communication goes up, Authority comes down, and one does not work without the other. If the system is working correctly, it allows for people’s concerns to be heard and for representatives to address them. When it fails, Authority’s leadership is deaf.
Our House was capped in 1911, and as the population grew and the number of representatives stayed the same, power began to concentrate. When power is concentrated, communication fails. Think of the government as a corporation that services the people’s needs and congress as customer service. In 1911 each Rep was responsible for about 220,000 customers; now they represent 750,000 customers. Americans send emails and leave messages, sometimes they get through, but nothing gets done. The poor customer service has led to customers unjustly taking their anger out on the customer service reps, and over time it became an undesirable place to work. Mistreated employees left the job and were replaced by less qualified ones. Most customers became disengaged from the business. Most corporations in this position would fail; however, this corporation doesn’t have any competition, and they make money through a subscription plan that Americans are forced to renew every year on April 16th. With an endless supply of capital and a lack of accountability, the place became a breeding ground for corruption. The new employees entered a corrupt environment that was less about communication and more about Authority. The legacy employees started concentrating Authority away from the customer service reps and to the managers. The managers are the Chairmen and the minority and majority leaders. That’s where Justin Amash comes in. He wants to use the massive amount of power concentrated in the Speakership to decentralize it.
Why is concentrated power bad? Because it gives an advantage to the wealthy and well-connected. With so few in charge, only the rich can afford to reach them.
The relationship between the People and the Authority needs much work to be repaired, and electing Justin Amash would start us on the right path.
Amash’s plan would return power to our representatives. After that, it will be up to the people to put in the work.
Justin Amash is a highly principled and consistent politician. While in congress, he had a track record of upholding the rule of law and the constitution; he voted in favor of civil liberties and limiting the federal government's powers. Amash is also a strong fiscal responsibility advocate; he consistently voted against wasteful government spending.
Justin isn’t the flashy salesman, and he isn’t a celebrity. I bet most Americans wouldn’t recognize him if they sat next to him in a coffee shop. He is the labor class of government; he’s the trusted mechanic you go to because you love your car and the dealership wants to sell you another; he’s the family pediatrician to whom you take your sick kids. He is the minister at the church you see for marital advice. Justin is the guy you take your republic to for repair. He’s not in it for himself. He is in it to serve his community.
It’s not the Republican’s or the Democrat’s House; it’s the people’s House.